THUNDER BAY - A Thunder Bay Police Service officer said he felt panicked and scared when trying to apprehend a 60-year-old man under the Mental Health Act, but he was questioned why he did not take any steps to request support and if his level of frustration played a role in the physical confrontation that took place.
Const. Ryan Dougherty testified in his own defence on day four his trial on the charge of assault causing bodily harm before Justice O’Marra in a Thunder Bay courtroom on Thursday. Dougherty pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The Special Investigations Unit determined there were reasonable grounds to charge Dougherty in connection to his involvement in an incident that left a 60-year-old man with facial injuries in November 2022.
Evidence presented at the trial detailed the complainant being transported to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre under the Mental Health Act due to possible suicidal ideation.
The complainant testified earlier that Dougherty stopped him after he left the hospital and punched him in the head without provocation.
According to Dougherty’s testimony, he was at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre on a separate Mental Health Act call when he was approached by a nurse and security guard requesting assistance in locating the complainant who seemingly left the hospital.
Dougherty located the complainant on Oliver Road not far from the hospital entrance. He stopped his police cruiser nearby and exited to speak with him.
“I tell him my first name, I always use my first name,” Dougherty testified. “I say that he has taken off from the hospital and the doctor wants you back and I am apprehending you under the Mental Health Act.”
When he pulled up to the complainant, Dougherty said he did not activate his emergency lights, which would have automatically turned on his body-worn camera. He also did not turn the camera on when he exited the vehicle.
Due to a sudden death investigation in the same area in which he was involved, Dougherty testified his stress levels were increased and he felt an urgency to help the complainant.
“I got out of my vehicle, I looked over at that sign and remembered [the sudden death investigation], I went to turn my portable radio on and I just forgot to turn my body camera on, there was so much going on,” he said.
Dougherty continued that the complainant ignored his requests to return to the hospital, saying he didn’t need any help and was going home.
“He seemed more agitated with me,” Dougherty said, adding that the complainant’s actions indicated to him that: “he’s had enough of me.”
Dougherty ordered the complainant to put his hands on the hood of his police cruiser, but he testified the complainant ignored the order.
“My stress levels were up now. I tried so many things to get him to comply with what I wanted and he wasn’t listening to anything and was now actively walking away,” Dougherty said. “I was a bit shocked. To this day I feel I underestimated the complainant just because I thought he would listen to me.”
The complainant walked past the police cruiser and Dougherty said he grabbed him by the wrist. After doing so, he testified a tug-of-war ensued, with the complainant pulling away.
Dougherty forced the complainant to the ground, ending up on his back. Dougherty then crawled on top of him, attempting to secure his arms.
“I tell him to stop resisting. He is getting more agitated with me, he is swearing more vigorously and now he is trying to buck me off of him,” Dougherty testified. “I was starting to get scared I was going to lose the fight. Him getting away from me, me getting hurt. I was afraid if he got away it could become a full fist fight. I was panicked.”
While Dougherty was equipped with a metal baton, or asp, as well as pepper spray, he felt those were not viable options due to the proximity between him and the complainant. He testified to telling the complainant if he did not stop resisting he would strike him.
“I felt that was the less lethal option I could take at that time,” he said. “I was scared. I have a family, a wife and children, and I was worried I was going to lose the fight.”
Dougherty ended up striking the complainant four times in the head with a closed fist. The complainant then said he would stop resisting and he was rolled onto his stomach and handcuffed.
A responding officer arrived on scene with the emergency lights activated, which automatically turned on Dougherty’s body-worn camera at that time.
His body-worn camera then captures exchanges between him and the complainant inside the police cruiser enroute back to the hospital.
“I was upset,” Dougherty said of the interaction that was heated at times. “I was upset at him for having a physical altercation with me. I was super upset at the hospital for failing [the complainant] as well as that other male. I was mad.”
Dougherty added that he never wanted to hurt the complainant and if he could have done things differently that night, he would have radioed for assistance as soon as he got into his vehicle.
“I think the presence of maybe two officers [the complainant] would have looked at that as more of a show of force and we would have had more time to talk to him,” he said. “I wish I had turned my body-worn camera on.”
Crown questions Dougherty’s actions
During cross examination by the Crown attorney Vlatko Karadzic, Dougherty was questioned why he did not take any measures to notify other officers or dispatch where he was or what he was doing and if his frustrations over the situation led him to escalate the situation into a physical confrontation.
Dougherty said he was not frustrated with the complainant but rather with the hospital for allowing him to leave.
“I was frustrated the hospital didn’t watch [the complainant],” he said.
Karadzic asked Dougherty if he had concerns for either the complainant’s safety or his own why he did not make any effort to contact his partner or dispatch about searching for the complainant.
“I felt I took ownership of the complainant and I needed to find him and I went out looking for him,” he said.
Dougherty was also questioned why he chose to physically grab the complainant rather than reassess the situation when he started to walk away and reset his handheld radio to call for assistance.
“Your perception is you didn’t have time?” Karadzic asked.
“I didn’t have time,” Dougherty responded.
“Objectively speaking you had plenty of time,” Karadzic added.
“I didn’t have time,” Dougherty said.
Karadzic then suggested to Dougherty that he was the one who started the physical interaction by grabbing the complainant by the wrist.
“I am suggesting there is nothing stopping you from just following him and continuing to communicate with him,” Karadzic said.
“I don’t agree with that,” Dougherty said, adding later: “If I had let go of him, things could have changed drastically. Anything could have happened. The safest thing was to keep him where he was.”
Cross-examination of Dougherty will continue Friday to be followed by closing submission by counsel.
